On 8 January 2019, the Tokyo District Court held a hearing to explain the grounds for Carlos Ghosn's detention. Only fourteen public seats were available. More than one thousand people queued for lottery tickets, producing odds greater than seventy to one.
The proceeding was not a trial on guilt but a rare public hearing at which Ghosn challenged the basis of his prolonged detention. Intense international attention meant would-be spectators were lining up not for admission itself, but for a chance to win admission. An open court can unlock its doors, yet when only fourteen chairs are available, public access becomes a lottery.